President Otto Pérez Molina Is Stripped of Immunity in Guatemala

MEXICO CITY — Guatemala’s Congress voted on Tuesday to strip President Otto Pérez Molina of his immunity from prosecution, a unanimous decision that acknowledged the outpouring of citizen demands for an end to entrenched impunity.

The 132-0 vote was the culmination of a tumultuous five months since prosecutors revealed the existence of a customs fraud ring in April, describing how officials received bribes in exchange for discounted tariffs, a scheme that effectively stole millions from the treasury.

Late on Tuesday, a judge granted a request from prosecutors and ordered Mr. Pérez Molina not to leave the country.

“Justice can reach anybody” who breaks the law, said Attorney General Thelma Aldana, speaking to reporters in her office after the vote. She added, however, that “it is very painful, very worrying that a president in office should be submitted to a criminal trial.”

The case ignited a flood of protest from ordinary Guatemalans, who began staging weekly protests in Guatemala City’s central plaza, demanding the president’s resignation, although he had yet to be linked directly to the scheme.

But it was not until Aug. 21, when prosecutors announced that their evidence pointed to Mr. Pérez Molina as one of the scheme’s ringleaders, that Guatemala’s elite joined the calls for Mr. Pérez Molina to step down.

In an hourlong news conference on Monday, Mr. Pérez Molina, a retired general, angrily denied the accusations and refused to step down, adding that he would submit to due process. “I have not taken one cent from that fraudulent structure that was practically stealing from Guatemalans,” he said.

The congressional vote does not remove the president from office, and several steps remain before Mr. Pérez Molina would face trial. First, a criminal court judge must rule that he is not fit for office and that a trial should proceed. The president’s lawyers have also filed motions before the nation’s Constitutional Court that might also delay the proceedings.

But removing the president’s immunity has enormous symbolism in a country long divided by class and race and where impunity for the powerful was the rule in a system fueled by corruption.

“It sends a very powerful message both to Guatemalans and to other countries in the region,” said Adriana Beltrán, a senior associate at the Washington Office on Latin America. “That the justice system can be made to work, even against those that have been historically deemed untouchable. That you can have the rule of law and respect due process and human rights.”

Many watching the events over the past months say they mark a broader change.

“I would say that Guatemala today is not the Guatemala from before April,” Ms. Beltrán said.

The case against Mr. Pérez Molina, which forced the resignation of his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, in May, was brought by a United Nations-backed commission of independent prosecutors that has been working alongside the Guatemalan attorney general’s office for almost a decade. The commission has brought down a series of corrupt officials, developing complex cases using wiretaps and other evidence.

Its work has strengthened Guatemala’s own prosecutors, hampered by limited resources.

The political turmoil has played out against the backdrop of an election campaign that has been caught up in the protests. Voters go to the polls on Sunday, although no candidate is expected to win 50 percent, and a second round between the top two candidates is set for Oct. 25.

Mr. Pérez Molina is not eligible for re-election and his term ends on Jan. 14. Leading academics and civil society groups had asked for Sunday’s election to be postponed, arguing for time to put electoral reforms in place.

Manuel Baldizón, a wealthy businessman, has led the polls for much of the campaign. His running mate is himself embroiled in a corruption inquiry, and the urban middle classes that have flocked to the protests have made it clear that they consider Mr. Baldizón part of the same corrupt system, shouting: “It’s your turn next.”

Jimmy Morales, a comedian who is running as an outsider, has moved up in the polls. Sandra Torres, a former first lady, is in third place.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: President Is Stripped of Immunity in Guatemala. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe